When communications equipment such as computers, televisions and printers are to be placed in a room, it is desirable to have the communication cable(s) leading to the equipment to pass interiorly through the wall structure to a position adjacent the equipment and then through an opening in the wall structure to the equipment. A wall plate having a cable access opening may be mounted in the wall opening for extending the cable into the room and forming a neater look at the wall opening. This also provides a neater look in the room by avoiding the lengths of cable from being exposed in the room.
In the past, wall plates were simply flat plastic plates mountable to the wall about the hole in the wall, with an access hole in the wall plate passing the cable(s) into the room. This formed a more “finished look” to the cable entry. However, when the hole in the wall plate was not occupied by a cable, or when the cable occupied less than all the space of the access hole, a person could see through the access hole in the wall plate and possibly see into the wall structure.
Later, wall plates were developed that have a “nose” that protrudes from the wall plate into the room, with the nose having a downwardly facing opening that communicates with the access hole in the wall plate. The cable is extended from the access opening and through the nose into the room for connection to the computer. This type of wall plate having a nose-shield has met with popular use since the nose-shield provides a visual barrier through the opening in the wall plate.
More recently, electrical appliances, particularly flat screen televisions, are mounted directly to the wall, so that the protruding nose of a wall plate interferes with mounting the television in flat abutment with the surface of the wall. The wall plate can be displaced laterally or vertically with respect to the flat screen television with the opening of the nose of the wall plate directed toward the television so as to provide the least exposure of the cable. However, this arrangement does not hide the wall plate and a short run of the cable leading to the television set, and is usually considered visually obnoxious.
It is to the above described matters that this invention is directed.